A Minor Escapade
by ChimericalParoxysm
Summary: After humiliating himself before Fleur, Ron's brothers contrive further humiliation.


A/N: In response to Shadowed 93, TayaCurragh, and ToxicRainfall's "Will You Be My Valentine" challenge. My pairing was Fleur/Ron, and my prompts were Break Up, Firewhisky, and Unicorn.

* * *

Ronald Weasley had asked _Fleur Delacour_ – Beauxbatons Champion, and Veela extraordinaire – to the Yule Ball. Everyone but the boy himself seemed to feel this was extremely worthy of a good laugh. Possibly several.

In the midst of his mortification, _someone_ shoved a cool glass into his sweaty palm.

(We won't mention any names, but it seems churlish to omit that Fred, George, and Lee were huddled in a corner, casting eager glances in his direction every few minutes. This may have been innocent – it's really not for us to judge.)

Once the crowd began to clear, Ron emerged from his stupor long enough to down the entire glass of sultry amber liquid. He barely noticed his own choked sputtering or the tears that slipped from his burning eyes. No, Ron noticed nothing, but the aforementioned trio grinned, their eyes now fixed on the youngest Weasley boy.

(Not that we're presenting this as evidence of guilt, nor even suggesting that it's remotely suspicious.)

Ginny, though, certainly appeared to think it was, for, once she noticed their glances, her eyes flicked back and forth between them and Ron. A look of vague consternation slid onto her face and she walked surreptitiously over to the group.

"What've you done to him?" she hissed.

All three of the boys looked up simultaneously, long-perfected poker faces professing their innocence.

(And though Ginny didn't believe it for a moment, _we_, dear reader, would never deign to cast aspersions on the character of three such upstanding gentlemen.)

"Us?" Fred exclaimed indignantly.

"To whom?" George continued.

"Just _what_ are you suggesting, woman?" Lee asked suspiciously.

She rolled her eyes. "If it's seriously debilitating, Mum'll kill all _three_ of you," Ginny warned. She paused for a second, then grinned. "And if it's not seriously _good_, I might rat you out anyway."

All three boys laughed together.

"Now _there_-"

"Is the sister-"

"We know and love!"

"Best seats in the house!" George finished, gesturing, with a grand flourish, to the chair beside him.

(Well, now that they've confessed… I mean, after all, this _is_ why we love them. Isn't it?)

She only had to wait a few minutes before it began to kick in.

"Harry," Ron began dramatically (and quite audibly, might we add). "Oh, Harry… I'm a bloody idiot."

"Er, well, like I said, Ron, she was probably using her Veela stuff on Davies. You were fairly defenceless."

Hermione sniffed her disapproval.

"What I mean to say," he continued hastily, "is that it was unexpected – you had no chance, mate."

"She was just standing there… So… So _graceful_, you know?" His expression was as dreamy as his voice, and Harry looked at him awkwardly.

"Sure, Ron. Graceful."

He nodded fervently. "Like a unicorn. All pure, and with the shiny hair, and-"

"A _unicorn_?" Hermione snorted.

Fred stood up, feigned curiosity on his face. "What's this about a unicorn?" His voice carried across the room, and everyone returned their attention to the scene.

"Fleur!" Ron exclaimed. "The way she walks, you know? She sort of… Prances about." The room burst into laughter as he rose to demonstrate. Harry was staring at him in bewildered horror, and Hermione was beside herself in giggles.

"Gee, mate. Oughta join the ballet with moves like that," Seamus shouted.

Ron missed the point entirely. "Yeah," he exclaimed brightly. "Yeah, she should! I'll go tell her!"

"He _won't_," Ginny said uncertainly, struggling to contain her laughter.

"Oh," George replied, "I think he rather will."

Sure enough, Ron was half-way to the portrait when Harry finally found his voice. "Ron! What the bloody _hell _are you doing?"

The red-headed boy halted. "Harry," he said seriously, if not a bit angrily, "If you can't support me in this, mate, you need to just stay out of it."

Lee leaned in conspiratorially. "He's quite the emotional drunk, isn't he?"

Hermione seemed to think the obviously confused Harry required some assistance. "Really, Ron, what are you going to say to her? 'Gee, Fleur, let's take lessons together!'?"

"'Mione!" he gasped. "That's an _excellent_ idea! _Then_ she'll _have_ to break up with Davies."

"You mean when she sees how _graceful_ you are?" she asked scathingly, rolling her eyes.

"Exactly! Hermione, you are the most _brilliant_ person in the world."

She nodded, bemused. "_Stupefy!_"

Ginny looked wickedly at her brothers. "Oh how the graceless fall!"


End file.
